Library › Finance AI › Accountants
Answer three auditor bank questions without guessing a cause
- For Accountants
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Advanced
About this exercise
You're preparing notes before replying to the auditors' bank confirmation. Write a prompt for a plain-text Q&A with exactly these three questions, each followed by an answer line: "Q1: What is the adjusted bank balance?", "Q2: Does it agree to the books?", "Q3: What is still unexplained?" Show the math. Do not state a cause for any unexplained amount as fact; a lead is fine if labeled as unverified. Under 110 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Skipping the reconciling items. The AI compares $412,300 to $398,800 directly. Try: Say: "Adjust the bank balance for the deposit in transit and outstanding checks."
- Declaring the cause. The AI says the voided check explains the gap. Try: Add: "Label any lead as unverified; do not state a cause as fact."
- Forcing agreement. The AI says the balances reconcile. Try: Add: "Say plainly whether it agrees and by how much it differs."
- Changing the questions. The AI rewords or adds questions. Try: Add: "Use exactly these three questions, in this order."
- Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each part short.
What a strong prompt includes
- Quotes the questions
- Asks for the math
- Bans stated causes
- Gives the format
- Caps length
Related exercises
- Accrue goods received but not invoiced at PO price (Finance AI · Accountants)
- Accrue unbilled legal fees from a range using the midpoint policy (Finance AI · Accountants)
- Accrue unpaid wages for the working days after the last pay period (Finance AI · Accountants)
- Age a returns queue in business days and flag the ones over the limit (Customer Support & Success AI · Customer support teams)
- Age open purchase orders and assign an action for each (Finance AI · Accountants)